Students: Get the ‘Silicon Valley Experience on Steroids’ by Applying for the Startup Dream Team

May 19, 2012

12:00 pm

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Are you a student coming to Silicon Valley for an internship this summer? If so, Pierre-Simon Ntiruhungwa and Nicolas Grenié (who you may remember as from this year’s winning StartupBus team) invite you to come and receive the “Silicon Valley experience on steroids.”

The duo have founded Startup Dream Team, a 9-week program aimed toward educating young entrepreneurs on what’s required to build high-execution teams. The program features a weekly speaker series, a weekly hackathon, and a an opportunity to pitch your idea to a soon-to-be announced entrepreneur or VC. Startup Dream Team runs from June 18th through August 12th and will be held at the StartupHouse in San Francisco, where participants will live together in a friendly, hostel-like environment.

I caught up with Startup Dream Team co-founder Pierre-Simon Ntiruhungwa to learn more about his program.

Tech Cocktail: What is Startup Dream Team?

Pierre-Simon Ntiruhungwa: Startup Dream team is a 9-week team-building program for 30 interns in Silicon Valley. Students, coming from all around the world, will live together in a hostel for entrepreneurs called Startup House. On top of their internships that they have found by themselves, they will help organize a speaker series which includes Robert Scoble, Aaron Levie and Hiten Shah, and weekly hack days on Sundays.

The central focus of the program will be on team creation and teamwork. Indeed, the team is the core value in a successful startup, and we believe that this program will help students to find their matching cofounders.

Startup Dream Team Founder Pierre-Simon Ntiruhungwa

Startup Dream Team will give them an overview of Silicon Valley lifestyle. By making them live together, we would like to create a startup-minded environment, where engineers will be surrounded by business people and vice-versa. Living the Silicon Valley lifestyle means also being proactive, so students will be in charge of organizing events.

Tech Cocktail: Who is it for?

Ntiruhungwa: This for young aspiring entrepreneurs who are about to do an internship in Silicon Valley. The internship part is important, as they will all have great individual experiences of the startup world that they will be able to share between one another. Developers, designers, and biz dev/marketers are encouraged to appl,y as it’s important to have a balance of skill sets. Above all, this is for students who have big ambitions, are willing to learn with others, and crave an authentic Silicon Valley experience.

Tech Cocktaill: Why should someone attend?

Ntiruhungwa: Someone should attend because he/she will:

Attend and organize conferences with Robert Scoble, Hiten Shah and Aaron Levie

Have the rare opportunity to be in an environment favorable for team building and teamwork with other aspiring entrepreneurs

Be able to build a lifetime network by living with other people like him/herself and, hopefully, find the perfect co-founders.

Enjoy a Silicon Valley experience on steroids with a quick and deep integration to Silicon Valley ecosystem

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When Zach Davis isn’t getting lost in the mountains, he is hustling from Boulder, CO as Tech Cocktail’s Director of Marketing. He is the author of Appalachian Trials, a book chronicling the mindset necessary for thru-hiking all 2,181 miles of the Appalachian Trail, a feat he accomplished in 2011. Zach is a green tea enthusiast, die-hard Chicago sports fan, and avid concert-goer. Follow Zach on Twitter: @zrdavis.